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The …Lost Puddle Jumper continues the …Lost Domesticated Series evolution by taking the whippy …Lost Bottom Feeder outline and adding a speedy concave bottom shape. While the outline starts with a Bottom Feeder template, it’s definitely a touch pointier up front with more foam shaved off the forward foil. Underneath, the Puddle Jumper features a concave bottom shape for added lift and speed right out of the gate on take-offs, plus the ability to have two rocker lines on the same board – a flatter rocker down the center for gliding across flat sections and more rocker on the rails for vertical turns at the lip.

Due to the hybrid design with generous widths, the Puddle Jumper is very accessible for all ability surfers. The board’s design is focused on small wave performance with a looser, faster, modern approach. The smooth, wing free, squash tail design features a full tailblock for added lift and the ability to generate speed in soft conditions.

What We Like

The …Lost Domesticated Series has some serious heavy hitters that have helped build its reputation: The Plank, Uber Plank, LayZBoy, Couch Potato and RV. When Matt Biolos says “this is the best small wave board I have ever ridden”, that’s a pretty big claim. The key to understanding the Puddle Jumper, is understanding the entire domesticated lineup and which is “best” for who…

The Plank : The OG in the lineup and the board that started this whole ‘craze. Super fun in small to medium surf, especially when it’s mushy. The Plank actually had a bit more nose rocker, so it ended up being surfable outside its range and even in more hollow conditions. The extra nose rocker hampered paddling into small mushy surf. This board’s huge “sweet spot” is something that everyone loved.

Uber Plank: A tweak on the OG Plank design, pulling and foiling the nose, then taking a bit of tail area out. It retained the smooth, momentum based glide from the Plank, but fit into better waves without catching.

Bottom Feeder: The BF releases next after the Plank and the Uber Plank, with its design focused on more aggressive turning with a vertical approach. The BF has a more “locked and loaded” stance preference, more similar to what you see on shortboards. Its turns are way whippier and more pivotal off the top compared with the Plank or Uber Plank (or even the boards released in the future). As the name implies, its sole focus is small surf. It can be used in medium sized mushburgers, but when you take it into anything hollow the flat rocker becomes apparent.

LayZBoy: The “Swiss Army Knife” of the Domesticated lineup, and still a major player. This board has a HUGE range of use and a HUGE sweet spot. The LB can be surfed in waves thigh high to well overhead. This board has the shortest write-up because when you have a board that works in just about anything, that’s all you need to say. The rounded nose and smooth, bump and wing free outline prefer smoother, carving turns, needing the pocket of the wave or a throwing lip to re-direct the board more quickly.

Couch Potato: The CP was designed as a “step down” to the LayZBoy, focused solely on waves ankle high up to chest high. Again, another board with a wide-open sweet spot that put big smiles on surfers faces. This board again begins to be surfed well outside its range on the larger surf side, so it becomes apparent there’s room for another board “beneath” it. (Enter the Bean Bag)

RV: The RV features a Bottom Feeder inspired outline mashed up with the stand all over the board LayZBoy sweet spot. While it doesn’t have the overall surf range of the LayZboy, nor the massive size of the sweet spot that the LB has, it is more pivot in its turns due to the narrower, more foiled, pointed nose and curvier outline. The double wing squash tail reduces the size of the tail block, giving surfers a bit more control, but shaves horsepower off rock-bottom low end.

Puddle Jumper: So here we are and THANKS for following! The reason we gave you a quick history of the Domesticated Series is to depict the evolution of the line and also to highlight each board's performance benefits. Hopefully by now everyone understands that a board can only be “best” at a limited range of characteristics or wave sizes. Where the Puddle Jumper focuses its ducks is small wave, turn oriented surfing, with a locked and loaded stance preference. With that said, you see that it’s the most closely related to the Bottom Feeder, which is also solely focused on small waves and turning with a more vertical approach.

The addition of a concave bottom and slightly more foiled nose, allow the Puddle Jumper to take the Bottom Feeder to the next level. The concave bottom provides more speed right at take off, plus allows two different rockers to be run on the board – straighter rocker along centerline for gliding over flat sections and more rocker on the rails for vertical turns in the pocket of the wave. Both the BF and the PJ have a “bump wing” or slight elbow in the outline back near the front fins. This bump in the outline, add to their pivotal release in turns, as the board turns around that curve in the outline. The nose of the Puddle Jumper is slightly narrower and more foiled compared to the Bottom Feeder (first 9-12” from the side almost looks like a Rocket style nose). This reduces area and weight forward, which helps it not hang up and catch in the wave, plus reduces swing weight in the turns.

If you’ve surfed a Bottom Feeder before, then you know already 90% of what the Puddle Jumper surfs like. The 10% extra is extra speed and extra turning ability, which is pretty wild considering how well the BF turned already. Extra speed in small surf is always a bonus, as it allows you to make “un-makeable” sections. You can feel this extra speed right at take off, as the board sits higher in the water with a livelier feel. The increased rail rocker helps keep you tighter on the pocket, avoiding those high speed, long drawn out shoulder wraps that flatter boards are prone to. The PJ is still a small wave focused board so keep this in mind when you are venturing out into surf that’s either too hollow or too big for it, as you will run into similar barriers experienced with the Bottom Feeder. The PJ is a blast to surf in small, everyday surf and can be ridden effectively up to chest high surf, as long as it’s mushy.

Insider Info

We’ve been getting a lot of questions about which of these boards is right for who? The most popular of these has been Puddle Jumper vs. RV. The Puddle Jumper, with its wingless outline and concave bottom, provides more low-end horsepower, speed and looseness in true grovel conditions. If you are looking for the fastest, most maneuverable board for small waves or mushy waves only, the Puddle Jumper is the board to go with. The RV, with its tip to tail vee bottom and double wing squash tail, has a wider range of use and a longer sweet spot on the board. This makes it a better choice for surfers looking for a single board to cover a wide range of use with a down in the water, controlled feel.

Just like the Bottom Feeder, the Puddle Jumper can be used with a variety of fin set- ups. Those that like the additional down the line projection and speed that the Futures Seaworthy Controllers provide, will also like them on the Puddle Jumper. We’ve been fooling around with our PJ as both a quad and thruster with the large Futures Mayhems, and while you give up a bit of speed out of the turns, the board surfs a bit more freely on its rocker line, taking away a touch of the flat feeling in rounder waves.

You typically run concave bottom boards with lower volumes than flat or vee’d out boards. If you’ve grown to appreciate the high volume numbers of your domesticated boards, don’t be afraid to run them in the Puddle Jumper, since the extra foam will only add to wave count and glide in small surf. Remember, this is your groveler, so don’t under-power it. If you have an active surf style and can generate speed at will, you can run the PJ closer to your smaller concaved boards volume #s, just adding a liter or two for extra power.

Why You Want This Board

You’re looking for a high speed, loose, aggressive groveler that has the closest feel to your trusted hybrid or shortboard. This board has all its ponies focused on empowering small surf.